Do some people not realise that the money that governments have to pay for things comes from taxes?

[Thedogshow]

I keep hearing people say things along the lines of ‘letting people die so that people can go shopping’ and ‘so that rich people can get more money’ etc. As if the other option would be to just chill out forever at home, get paid by the government and wait until this mythical time when we are ‘safe’ from coronavirus.
But the NHS, universal credit, all social care etc is paid for by money that is obtained by the government from income tax, corporation taxes, duties on alcohol etc. The alternative is to borrow more money from countries like China.
Surely they understand this?
If all businesses are shut and no one is earning the government will quickly run out of money. If lots of big businesses go bust it is catastrophic for the country. If banks go bust everyone loses everything. It makes the UK extremely vulnerable. And domestically, so, so many jobs will be lost, both in the private and public sector.
It is pretty important. Wanting the economy not to tank is not greed, it’s essential to protect the whole of society.
Nothing comes from nothing.

A race to the bottom is only inevitable if people subscribe to that notion, as they did with austerity. The rich get richer the COVID19 heroes get poorer.

At the last recession lots of private sector workers were made redundant and took wage cuts. Real wage cuts such as 10-20. % to keep employers afloat. You have no idea about the hardship this caused and resultant damage to pension payments. You seem to think the impending recession is the same. It most certainly is not. That’s why we need to look at everything because this is a total catastrophe. It will make 2008 look like a blip. Seriously this means we must try-evaluate what we can afford and what people can realistically pay.

Income tax is more than corporation tax.

Someone taking profits as dividend pays BOTH not just corporation tax!

I certainly do know the effects of redundancy and lack of funding in public services to individuals and communities. Squeezing the life out of of everything, making society poorer is not the answer especially when their is alot of money swilling around that is supposedly untouchable and vanity projects continue to get the green light. Making more people worse of has a long term effect on health, education, life expetancy and it will still be the taxpayer in the long run that has to clean this up.

Private sector workers (professional roles) enjoy good salaries when the sun is shining but when the economy tanks of course they are vulnerable. You can't subscribe to capitalism on part time basis, you take the rough with the smooth, Its a flawed system. Lashing out at nurses, teachers etc - the bedrock of a fair society (not one built solely on financial gain) is not the answer.

I cannot believe some stuff on here.

The tories called the referendum on brevity. People wrongly trust politicians. Suicide was never a feasible solution so why offer it up?

The tories knew 2 years ago that the UK was ill prepared for an inevitable pandemic. Yet instead of tackling this fact it stripped the civil service to its bare bones and destroyed the systems meant to protect us.

For example, letting the great UK public invest their own pension pots.

The insolvency service, who will no doubt be expected to deal with this collapse and recover funds from unscrupulous fraudsters feasting on this site show is not fit for purpose anymore.

The losses over the last 10 years due to fraud and a lack of adequate systems to tackle it have already crippled the country, it just isn't a popular media subject.

Anyone even aware of the 11bn MTIC fraud gap owed to the UK by the EU? No, because then maybe someone would ask why the tories allow it to continue.

No, because then maybe someone would ask why the tories allow it to continue.

Maybe people should challenge Gordon Brown on why he allowed tax evasion and avoidance to spiral out of control on his watch????

Yes, they should indeed. I think that they should be held to account. Tony Blair should have been held to account too.

If there are no consequences, why make fully considered decisions?

Maybe Tory apologists should stop engaging in whataboutery. The tories have been in government for 10 years!

Maybe Tory apologists should stop engaging in whataboutery. The tories have been in government for 10 years!

But Blair/Brown spent their 13 years blaming everything on the Tories before them.

At the end of the day, they're all as bad as eachother. I hate both with a passion. But I hate even more the smug Lefties who blame Tories for everything yet think the sun shone out of Brown's arse!

But I hate even more the smug Lefties who blame Tories for everything yet think the sun shone out of Brown's arse!

I don't think "lefties" would have a great deal of time for new Labour but at least in those 13 years they wern't ideologically destroying public services. Before that we had 18 years of "greed is good" Thatherism that set us on the road we find ourselves today, deseprate to inflict more hardship on ordinary people (everyone must suffer for the greater good of neo liberalism).

To the posters who say the Government can just print more money (nowadays known as quantitative easing). This will cause inflation.
The Bank of England has already reduced interest rates, which is part of that.
Otherwise the Gov raise money by taxes, and on spending (vat), and by borrowing eg. Gov bonds.
The main difference between the various parties, is where they raise the money, and where the money is spent.

The devil is always in the detail...
For you purveyors of Wikipedia, read the functions of the BoE... Are you still convinced the UK Government owns the BoE?